Investigation of CO2 Capture from a CO2 + CH4 Gas Mixture by Gas Hydrate Formation in the Fixed Bed of a Molecular Sieve

Enabling hydrate-based methane storage under mild operating conditions by periodic mesoporous organosilica nanotubes

Biomethane is a renewable natural gas substitute produced from biogas. Storage of this sustainable energy vector in confined clathrate hydrates, encapsulated in the pores of a host material, is a highly promising avenue to improve storage capacity and energy efficiency. Herein, a new type of periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) nanotubes, referred to as hollow ring PMO (HR-PMO), capable of promoting methane clathrate hydrate formation under mild working conditions (273 K, 3.5 MPa) and at high water loading (5.1 g water/g HR-PMO) is reported. Gravimetric uptake measurements reveal a steep single-stepped isotherm and a noticeably high methane storage capacity (0.55 g methane/g HR-PMO; 0.11 g methane/g water at 3.5 MPa). The large working capacity throughout consecutive pressure-induced clathrate hydrate formation-dissociation cycles demonstrates the material's excellent recyclability (97% preservation of capacity). Supported by ex situ cryo-electron tomography and x-ray diffraction, HR-PMO nanotubes are hypothesized to promote clathrate hydrate nucleation and growth by distribution and confinement of water in the mesopores of their outer wall, along the central channels of the nanotubes and on the external nanotube surface. These findings showcase the potential for application of organosilica materials with hierarchical and interconnected pore systems for pressure-based storage of biomethane in confined clathrate hydrates.

Metal-Organic Framework HKUST-1 Promotes Methane Hydrate Formation for Improved Gas Storage Capacity

The large demand of natural gas consumption requires an effective technology to purify and store methane, the main component of natural gas. Metal-organic frameworks and gas hydrates are highly appealing materials for the efficient storage of industrially relevant gases, including methane. In this study, the methane storage capacity of the combination of methane hydrates and HKUST-1, a copper-based metal-organic framework, was studied using high pressure differential scanning calorimetry. The results show a synergistic effect, as the addition of HKUST-1 promoted hydrate growth, thus increasing the amount of water converted to hydrate from 5.9 to 87.2% and the amount of methane stored, relative to the amount of water present, from 0.55 to 8.1 mmol/g. The success of HKUST-1 as a promoter stems mainly from its large surface area, high thermal conductivity, and hydrophilicity. These distinctive properties led to a kinetically favorable decrease in hydrate growth induction period by 4.4 h upon the addition of HKUST-1. Powder X-ray diffraction and nitrogen isotherm suggests that the hydrate formation occurs primarily on the surface of HKUST-1 rather than within the pores. Remarkably, the HKUST-1 crystals show no significant changes in terms of structural integrity after many cycles of hydrate formation and dissociation, which results in the material having a long life cycle. These results confirm the beneficial role of HKUST-1 as a promoter for gas hydrate formation to increase methane gas storage capacity.

Promotion of Activated Carbon on the Nucleation and Growth Kinetics of Methane Hydrates

Due to the hybrid effect of physical adsorption and hydration, methane storage capacity in pre-adsorbed water-activated carbon (PW-AC) under hydrate favorable conditions is impressive, and fast nucleation and growth kinetics are also anticipated. Those fantastic natures suggest the PW-AC-based hydrates to be a promising alternative for methane storage and transportation. However, hydrate formation refers to multiscale processes, the nucleation kinetics at molecule scale give rise to macrohydrate formation, and the presence of activated carbon (AC) causes this to be more complicated. Although adequate nucleation sites induced by abundant specific surface area and pore texture were reported to correspond to fast formation kinetics at macroperspective, the micronature behind that is still ambiguous. Here, we evaluated how methane would be adsorbed on PW-AC under hydrate favorable conditions to improve the understanding of hydrate fast nucleation and growth kinetics. Microbulges on AC surface were confirmed to provide numerous nucleation sites, suggesting the contribution of abundant specific surface area of AC to fast hydrate nucleation and growth kinetics. In addition, two-way convection of water and methane molecules in micropores induced by methane physical adsorption further increases gas-liquid contact at molecular scale, which may constitute the nature of confinement effect of nanopore space.

Experimental Investigation of the Hydrate-Based Gas Separation of Synthetic Flue Gas with 5A Zeolite

Coal combustion flue gas contains CO2, a greenhouse gas and driver of climate change. Therefore, CO2 separation and removal is necessary. Fortunately, 5A zeolites are highly porous and can be used as a CO2 adsorbent. In addition, they act as nuclei for hydrate formation. In this work, a composite technology, based on the physical adsorption of CO2 by 5A zeolite and hydrate-based gas separation, was used to separate CO2/N2 gas mixtures. The influence of water content, temperature, pressure, and particle size on gas adsorption and CO2 separation was studied, revealing that the CO2 separation ability of zeolite particles sized 150–180 μm was better than that of those sized 380–830 μm at 271.2 K and 273.2 K. When the zeolite particles were 150–180 μm (type-B zeolite) with a water content of 35.3%, the gas consumption per mole of water (ngas/nH2O ) reached the maximum, 0.048, and the CO2 separation ratio reached 14.30%. The CO2 molar concentration in the remaining gas phase (xCO2gas) was lowest at 271.2 K in the type-B zeolite system with a water content of 47.62%. Raman analysis revealed that CO2 preferentially occupied the small hydrate cages and there was a competitive relationship between N2 and CO2.

Study on the blockage mechanism of carbon dioxide hydrate slurry and its microscopic particle characteristics

In order to better understand the process of carbon dioxide hydrate formation and blockage, a series of experiments were performed in a high pressure hydrate experimental loop which has been constructed. The impacts of varying flow rate, pressure, and restarting of the pump on the plugging have been studied in this paper. The particle chord length distribution in the process of hydrate formation and blockage was monitored in real time by using the advanced device, Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement (FBRM). The results showed that the time taken for hydrate blockage to occur would significantly decrease at higher pressure, which meant higher pressure promoted the occurrence of hydrate blockage. At the same time, the time needed for carbon dioxide hydrate blockage increased with the flow rate. That is, the time for hydrate blockage increased when the flow rate changed from 754 kg h⁻¹ to 1657 kg h⁻¹. And once the pipeline has been blocked, restarting the pump may make the problem more serious. In addition, particle agglomeration led to a significant change in the particle chord length distribution during the process of hydrate formation and blockage, and the hydrate particle coalescence was the key cause of the hydrate plugging.

In order to better understand the process of carbon dioxide hydrate formation and blockage, a series of experiments were performed in a high pressure hydrate experimental loop which has been constructed.